Is NovelAI Safe? 2026 Safety Report

NovelAI Safety Analysis

NovelAI scores 5/10 on our safety review as of March 2026. It's one of the more honest AI platforms in the space - their ToS explicitly permits adult fiction and image generation, unlike competitors that technically prohibit it while tolerating it until they don't. That transparency earns them points. The $9.99/month Tablet tier offers meaningful functionality, and the security implementation is solid. The main concern is data retention for AI-generated story content, which many users don't think about until after they've written something personal.

We reviewed NovelAI.net in March 2026 covering HTTPS setup, account security options, privacy documentation, billing transparency, and ToS clarity for adult content. TLS is correctly configured. Account creation requires email and password with optional 2FA through TOTP apps like Authy - enabling 2FA is easy and we'd recommend it. The privacy policy discloses that generated content and story data are stored on their servers to enable features like cloud save. NovelAI operates from a GDPR jurisdiction, which means deletion requests have legal enforcement behind them, a genuine positive. No third-party display ads means no ad-related redirect risk. Billing via Stripe at $9.99/month (Tablet), $14.99 (Scroll), or $25 (Opus) - all clearly labeled.

Cancellation through account settings worked cleanly in our test. Statement labeling appears as "NovelAI" which is direct and not obscured. Refund policy is limited - we couldn't verify independently whether discretionary refunds are granted, though their ToS doesn't make promises here. As our reviewer put it, "NovelAI's explicit ToS permission for adult content is actually a safety feature - you know where you stand, unlike platforms that accept your money then ban you for ToS violations they were quietly tolerating."

Enable 2FA immediately after account creation. Use Authy over SMS for the second factor. If you write fiction with real personal details - which some users do in AI companion scenarios - understand that content is stored server-side. The 5/10 score reflects the data retention consideration, not billing or malware concerns. NovelAI is one of the better-managed platforms in this space.